A-03 / Projects

From ideas to flight

Real engineering starts with building, testing, and learning from failure. Six projects, one of them still open.

Sheets: 6
Active: TARC 2027
Scale: 1:1
Rev: 2026-A

Index

Every project, at a glance.

Index of RAEA projects
Sheet	Project	Status	Sequence
PRJ-01	Balsa Wood Glider Project	Completed	Design → Build → Test → Improve → Compete
PRJ-02	Balloon Rocket STEAM Project	Completed / Ongoing	Build → Test → Compete → Reflect
PRJ-03	TARC 2027 Rocket Build	Active	Simulate → Design → Fabricate → Test → Fly
PRJ-04	OpenRocket Workshops	Completed / Ongoing	Model → Simulate → Analyze → Refine
PRJ-05	OpenVSP Workshops	Completed / Ongoing	Sketch → Model → Evaluate
PRJ-06	CAD & Prototyping	Ongoing	Model → Print → Fit → Revise

Records

The detail.

PRJ-01Completed

Balsa Wood Glider Project

Students designed and assembled balsa wood gliders while learning how aircraft design affects flight performance.

Members worked through the fundamentals of aerodynamics, stability, lift, drag, and weight, then took their airframes to flight testing and iterated on what the results showed.

Design → Build → Test → Improve → Compete

A glider loaded on its launcher · 18 Mar 2026
Certificates for the best-performing glider

Skills: Aerodynamics, stability, flight testing, design iteration, construction, teamwork
Competition: Longest distance, longest flight, design and creativity
Recognition: Certified by Cal State Fresno; awarded by UCLA's Aerospace Club

PRJ-02Completed / Ongoing

Balloon Rocket STEAM Project

Students built balloon-powered rockets and tested how design choices affected performance.

The project also runs as RAEA's outreach workshop with America On Track, where younger students build and race their own rockets.

Build → Test → Compete → Reflect

A balloon rocket built during outreach · 22 Jan 2026

Concepts: Thrust, Newton's Third Law, acceleration, motion, engineering design
Used in: Community outreach with America On Track

PRJ-03Active

TARC 2027 Rocket Build

RAEA is designing and fabricating a competition rocket for the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) 2027.

This is an active, in-progress project and RAEA's most advanced engineering effort to date.

Simulate → Design → Fabricate → Test → Fly

A member-built rocket on the pad · 6 Apr 2025

CAD: TinkerCAD
Printing: Bambu A1 Mini
Airframe: BT-80 to BT-70 transition tube fabrication
Structure: Fin can and nose cone development
Hardware: Heat-set inserts, M6 socket cap screws
Areas: Rocket design, simulation, flight performance, electronics, recovery systems, engineering constraints

PRJ-04Completed / Ongoing

OpenRocket Workshops

Students learn to design rockets digitally, simulate flights, analyze stability, explore motor choices, and understand performance before physical testing.

Co-hosted with the UCI AIAA Student Branch, connecting high school students directly with university-level aerospace engineering.

Model → Simulate → Analyze → Refine

Airframe geometry on the projector · 26 Feb 2026

Software: OpenRocket
Co-hosted: UCI AIAA Student Branch

PRJ-05Completed / Ongoing

OpenVSP Workshops

Students explore aircraft design using NASA's OpenVSP software.

Sessions move from wing and fuselage geometry to full aircraft configuration.

Sketch → Model → Evaluate

Software: OpenVSP (NASA)
Concepts: Aircraft geometry, wings, fuselage, aerodynamics, aircraft configuration

PRJ-06Ongoing

CAD & Prototyping

RAEA incorporates CAD, 3D printing, prototyping, mechanical design, and fabrication.

Students learn how digital designs become physical components, and how tolerance, material, and assembly decide whether a part works.

Model → Print → Fit → Revise

Model rockets, built with the UCI AIAA Student Branch · 26 Feb 2026

Tools: TinkerCAD, Bambu A1 Mini
Output: Mechanical parts, fixtures, airframe components

Membership

What can a member actually do?

Not a wish list. Every line below is something RAEA members have done or are doing now.

Design a rocket
Build a glider
Learn CAD and 3D printing
Simulate a rocket in OpenRocket
Design an aircraft in OpenVSP
Participate in TARC
Visit an aerospace company
Tour JPL
Attend university workshops
Teach elementary students
Lead a project
Become a chapter leader
Help organize competitions

Get involved Programs